Korea’s major private equity firm MBK Partners has sold 5 percent stake in Coway, the nation’s largest water purifier maker and rental firm by market share, in the form of a block deal, news reports said Tuesday. A block deal refers to a trade of massive shares at an arranged price between the seller and buyers, often institutional investors, outside the open market to reduce the impact on the p...

The money supply in South Korea jumped 6.2 percent in March from a year earlier, the central bank said Tuesday. The nation's "M2" totaled 2,436.9 trillion won ($2.1 trillion) in March, compared with 2,294.5 trillion won a year earlier, the Bank of Korea said in a statement. Month-on-month, the money supply gained 0.8 percent, the statement said. M2 is a measure of the money supply counting the...

Foreign currency deposits held by banks operating in South Korea fell in April as exporters reduced their deposits of dollar-denominated earnings, central bank data showed Tuesday. Outstanding foreign currency deposits held by local banks, domestic and foreign, reached $67.39 billion in April, down from 70.54 billion a month earlier, the Bank of Korea said in a statement. Broken down, foreign c...

South Korean stocks inched down after a strong start late Tuesday morning, as shares of key retailers and pharmaceutical companies widened losses, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index retreated 0.9 points, or 0.04 percent, to 2,289.75 as of 11:20 a.m. Lotte Shopping, which runs the department store and hypermarket chain units of Lotte Group, the country's fifth-largest...

The South Korean stock market has emerged as the best performer in the world over the past month on the back of strong foreign buying, data showed Tuesday. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed at 2,286.02 Friday, up 7.4 percent from a month earlier and the highest rise among bourses in major advanced and emerging markets, according to the data by the Korea Exchange and the Kore...

South Korean stocks got off to a strong start Tuesday, buoyed by bullish tech large caps, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index climbed 13.38 points, or 0.58 percent, to trade at 2,304.03 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Market behemoth Samsung Electronics gained more than 1 percent, with chipmaker SK hynix advancing nearly 2 percent. Brokerage firms also gathered gr...

South Korean stocks closed higher on Monday as individual and institutional buyers scooped up big cap stocks offseting a selling spree by foreigners amid uncertainties at both home and abroad, analysts said. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index advanced 4.63 points, or 0.20 percent, to close at 2,290.65. Trade volume was moderate at 248 milli...

The ongoing increase of household debt brings focus on whether President Moon Jae-in will manage to fulfill his pledge of curbing swelling household debt, which has long been a drag on South Korea’s economy. Household borrowing from lenders in Asia’s fourth-largest economy rose 7.3 trillion won ($6.5 billion) in April, according to preliminary data from the Financial Services Commission on Monda...

With President Moon Jae-in promising to create 810,000 jobs and enhance welfare for ordinary people, the new government needs a big boost in fiscal income to execute jobs and welfare programs. The Finance Ministry is preparing for a possible change in its tax code plan, which is expected to be completed by the end of July, according to ministry officials. After announcing the tax code plan, the ...

The dollar-won volatility eased in April from a month earlier in line with eased volatility in the global financial markets, central bank data showed Monday. The session-over-session changes in the dollar-won exchange rates averaged 0.43 percent last month, compared to 0.47 in March, the Bank of Korea said in a statement. "The won fell against the dollar in April due to geopolitical risks and r...

South Korean shares traded higher late Monday morning as institutional buyers scooped up big cap stocks amid a massive selling spree by foreigners. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 6.35 points, or 0.28 percent, to 2,293.37 as of 11:20 a.m. The index opened lower on losses in market heavyweights, including market bellwether Samsung Electronics. However, the local index pared...

The daily turnover of South Korea's main stock market has reached a 22-month high in May on the back of strong foreign buying, data showed Monday. The daily value of shares traded on the main stock market has averaged 6.67 trillion won ($5.92 billion) through Friday this month, up 45 percent from the previous month and 32.4 percent from a year earlier, according to the data by the bourse operato...

South Korean stocks opened lower Monday as foreign investors continued to dump market heavyweights, such as Samsung Electronics amid lingering geopolitical uncertainties. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 4.7 points, or 0.21 percent, to 2,281.32 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Earlier in the day, North Korea said that it has successfully tested-fired a new surface-to-surf...

Financial regulators have restarted their postponed discussion to consolidate a financial supervision system, a measure aimed at better spotting potential financial risks. The move is part of the Moon Jae-in administration’s chaebol reform drive, by examining financial transfers between a group’s companies, including loans and investments such as cross-shareholding. The Financial Services Com...